NASA Puts the Earth Up for Adoption

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Wondering how to show that special planet some affection this Earth Day?Adopt it.

NASA has sectioned off 64,000 individual pieces of Earth to be “adopted” by supporters on their website.

The pieces are about 55 miles wide and assigned randomly. Similar to adopting a highway or naming a star, participants do not get legal or property rights to their section. So whether you get the 55-mile section that contains the Taj Mahal or the one that is square in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, you benefit the same.

What NASA can give is individualized scientific data about the adopted sections. Or users can explore and interact with a world map to print certificates from anywhere in the world—from a childhood street to the streets of Paris.

Both come with a certificate to share (or brag about) on social media.

NASA hopes to have every piece adopted by Earth Day, April 22. Once the adoptions fill up, they will be reassigned to allow everyone the opportunity to celebrate their own little corner of the Earth.